Some 58% of the U.S. population overall and a whopping 75% of younger children have been infected with the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday.
The results, which were determined by a nationwide blood survey, come as cases are on the increase across the nation, fueled by a surge of infections linked to the omicron subvariant BA.2.121.
On Tuesday, the U.S. had seen 81,074,050 infections and 992,902 deaths since the pandemic began. Nearly 79,000 new cases were reported on Tuesday alone.
Since the omicron variant was detected in the U.S. in the late fall, infection rates for every age group have increased, according to the new data.
Infection rates in children and adolescents saw the highest gains since December, with people 65 and older having the lowest increase in infection rates.
More than two-thirds of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly 46% have had a booster, according to the CDC.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said the highly contagious BA.2.121 omicron subvariant makes up nearly 30% of the cases in the U.S. now.
Before omicron was identified, a third of Americans had been infected with COVID-19, but by the end of February, nearly 60% had contracted the virus, according to the report.
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